


A Family Affair

by backtoblack101



Category: Agent Carter (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: BAMF Angie Martinelli, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Meeting the Parents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-04
Updated: 2015-04-04
Packaged: 2018-03-21 03:44:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3676119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/backtoblack101/pseuds/backtoblack101
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Peggy hadn't really known what to expect when meeting Angie's family for the first time, though it certainly hadn't involved her almost shooting Angie's brother.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Family Affair

**Author's Note:**

> So I was re-watching "The Heat" a few days ago, because Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy are amazing and it's not like i've a thousand essays to write, and the scene where Melissa McCarthy brings Sandra Bullock to meet her family inspired me to write this fic. So enjoy.

It was rare for Peggy to be home from work before dark, though tonight was one of those beautiful exceptions when both villains and Thompson decided to give her a break and she managed to slip out of the office at a semi-reasonable hour. She’d decided to make the most of the evening as well; she knew Angie would be back late from her audition so she planned on cooking them both dinner, a task that usually fell on her girlfriend’s shoulders. She even picked up a bunch of violets on the way home, smirking to herself each time she looked down at them in her hand.

But of course it was damn near impossible to make plans when one’s life was that of espionage, and the second Peggy turned the lock in the front door only to find it already open she knew she wasn’t alone. She drew her gun slowly and dropped her purse and the flowers on the hall table, moving noiselessly through each room of their sprawling mansion, stopping finally at the kitchen door.

She paused for the briefest second, noting the way the door lay slightly ajar, and in her pause heard a faint rattling coming from inside. She counted to three slowly, tensing her body ready to fight. Then she burst into the room, gun held out in front of her, finding her target easily.

“Don’t move!” She ordered, gun trained on the young man that had previously been snooping in one of the kitchen drawers. “Hands where I can see them.”

Slowly he drew his hand out of the drawer, revealing a wad of cash balled in his fist that he promptly dropped to the ground as he raised both trembling hands in the air. “Listen lady,” he whimpered, his accent thick yet familiar. “I ain’t here to cause trouble.”

“How did you get in?” Peggy didn’t lower her gun even now that she knew this man was merely a petty criminal.

“A key,” he explained, elaborating only when Peggy’s eyebrows knitted together in confusion. “Angie gave one to Ma and I borrowed it but only because I’m short on cash I swear I-“

“Wait.” Now Peggy did lower her gun, and the look of relief on the face of the mystery intruder would be laughable if Peggy weren’t so thoroughly confused. “Are you related to Angie?”

The guy nodded then and dropped both his hands now that the immediate threat of being shot seemed to have been neutralised. “Yea,” he told her, offering out a hand. “I’m Vinnie Martinelli, her little brother.”

Peggy rolled her eyes and put her gun back in its holster, ignoring the hand in front of her. “Of course you are.” Peggy knew her girlfriend’s family wasn’t the most honest, though she’d never actually been confronted by just how dishonest they were until now.

“Yea…” He pulled back his hand then made a move to get round her. “So it was real nice meetin’ you and all but I should probably-“

“Stop.” Peggy’s hand hovered over the hip that held her gun and although she had no intention of pulling it on Vinnie it was enough to stop him in his tracks. “I hope you don’t think I’m simply going to allow you to leave.” She saw his face pale at this and almost laughed. “You and I are staying right here until your sister gets home. I’m sure she’ll love hearing what I found you doing.” For a second she thought Vinnie may pass out, though instead he merely rocked back a bit into one of the counters.

“Listen lady, I dunno how well you know my sister, but I’d rather you just shot me…”

-.-.-.-

Angie’s audition had been a bust. Two trains and a fifteen minute walk for a producer to tell her she didn’t quite fit the look they had in mind. Well she was sorry if she wasn’t taller, blonder, and bustier, but they could have at least frigging told her that _before_ the audition. Did they even know how much it cost to get across town and back?

She almost took the door clean off the hinges when she slammed it shut. She dropped her purse and shrugged out of her jacket, leaving both items on the floor then storming into the depths of the house; she had only one plan for her evening and that was getting her girlfriend to screw the brains out of her until she couldn’t remember her own name, never mind the name of that fat headed producer.

She pushed open the kitchen door and found Peggy, sitting at the kitchen table staring expectantly at her. Angie was a full two steps into the room before she realised her girlfriend wasn’t alone.

“Vinnie, what the hell?” Angie stopped mid-motion to stare at her brother standing awkwardly at the kitchen counter.

“Ah, so this is your brother then?” Peggy hummed, looking between the pair somewhat amused.

“Yea, this is my thick-skulled brother,” Angie confirmed, looking at her girlfriend. “What the heck is he doing here?”

“Angie I can-“ Vinnie was cut off with a quick yet effective glare from his sister.

“Was I askin’ you?” She snapped before turning back to Peggy. “What’s this buffoon doin’ here?”

“I asked myself the same question when I came home to find him with his hand in one of our drawers,” Peggy hummed. “Then I noticed the wad of cash in said hand and-“ She too was cut off however when Angie’s eyes turned to steel and she began ranting in Italian.

The entire time Angie spoke she approached her brother slowly, one hand extended in front of her, a finger pointing and waving to emphasise each word. Peggy picked up the odd word or phrase; “murder” and “no respect” also perhaps something about never finding the body. By the time she’d finished her rant she was right in her brother’s face and Peggy understood why Vinnie had claimed he’d rather be shot than face her wrath.

“Peggy,” she growled without taking her eyes off Vinnie even for a second. “Get the car, we’re going out.”

Peggy would have protested, part of her genuinely fearful she was about to witness her girlfriend commit murder, though something about Angie’s tone left her feeling like it was best just to comply for now and if necessary wrestle a gun out of her hands at a later date.

-.-.-.-

Thankfully it wasn’t murder on Angie’s mind (or if it was she at least had the grace to hold off while in front of her secret agent girlfriend – plausible deniability if Peggy was ever called in for questioning and all that) and an hour later it was Angie and Vinnie’s house in East Harlem that Peggy pulled to a stop in front of.

To say the car ride had been tense would be an understatement, with Angie sitting in the back to ensure Vinnie didn’t attempt to jump out while the vehicle was moving (something Peggy was beginning to believe wouldn’t be beyond the scope of reason). However, the tension was nothing when compared to what Peggy, Angie and Vinnie were met with when they stepped into Angie’s childhood home and found themselves facing what Peggy could only presume to be Angie’s family sitting around the table.

“Angela!” Mrs Martinelli’s greeting was harsher than Peggy imagined it would be. “What’re ya doin’ holdin’ your brother’s ear like that.” Angie’s mother was obviously referring to the way Angie had her brother’s ear grasped between her middle and ring fingers, forcing Vinnie to crouch awkwardly into her hold for fear of having his ear ripped clean off the side of his face.

“What am I doin’?” Angie’s accent was stronger than usual Peggy noticed. “I’m bringin’ your dirt bag son here to let you know he was caught breakin’ into my house and tryin’ to steal my cash.”

“Oh really.” Mrs Martinelli stood then, hands resting on her hips. “And how do you know that for sure? How do you know he wasn’t just visitin’?”

“He had cash in his hand Ma,” Angie scoffed, her free hand waving dramatically in the air. “She caught him red handed!” She added then, pointing to Peggy over her shoulder, unwittingly throwing her girlfriend into a conversation she’d much rather stay out of.

“Oh yea, and who’s this anyway?” Her mother shot Peggy a sideward glare.

“Peggy Carter,” Peggy offered, straightening her back and offering a curt nod. “I live in the house as well.”

“Ah, so you’re the girl shackin’ up with my daughter.” Mrs Martinelli’s sideward glare turned more intense all of a sudden, and Peggy instantly wished she’d just let Angie do the talking.

“Ah Ma will ya stop it,” Angie snapped. “We’ve bigger issues to deal with here, like your good-for-nothin’ son bein’ up to his old tricks, and stealin’ off family now too.” She gave Vinnie’s ear an extra tug at that and her brother let out a sorry whimper.

“Angela that’s enough!” Mrs Martinelli stormed around the crowded table until she came face to face with both her children. “You let your brother go right now.” Angie complied, though not without one final vengeful tug. “Into the kitchen,” her mother ordered then, pointing at Vinnie and waiting on him to move before following. “I’ll deal with you when I’m done dealin’ with him, so wait here,” she added back over her shoulder to Angie before disappearing into the other room.

Peggy and Angie were left then facing a table of five other faces, some of whom resembled Angie and some of whom Peggy could only presume to be guests. After a moment of insufferably awkward silence, broken occasionally by Mrs Martinelli’s raise voice or Vinnie’s unintelligible apologies, Peggy decided to broaden her understanding of what had just happened.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered loudly, gaining Angie’s attention. “But what did I just witness?” Whenever Angie spoke of her mother Peggy had always presumed her to be a placid older woman, possibly the kind that knitted in her spare time and loved cooking large meals to bring her entire family together.

“My Ma has a soft spot for Vinnie,” Angie explained, rolling her eyes at the thought. “Youngest kid an’ all that… ridiculous if you ask me.”

“Hey!” One of the occupants of the table piped up. “Don’t be callin’ Ma ridiculous Angie.”

“Shut up Johnny you know I don’t mean it like that,” Angie snapped back with an indignant huff.

“Hey, don’t tell him to shut up.” This time the woman that spoke looked nothing like a Martinelli (Peggy noted from the second she entered the room they all shared the same eyes and bone structure).

“Who the hell are you tellin’ me who I can and can’t tell to shut up in my own home?” Angie gave the stranger the same look she’d been giving Vinnie the entire trip here, and Peggy shuffled back ever so slightly, making sure she was near enough the chest of drawers behind her to grab an item to use as a weapon if need be.

“I’m Gina,” the woman replied, her own stare turning cold, though Peggy gave it a mere 4/10 in comparison to Angie’s solid 9.5.

“Well Gina while I’m in the business of tellin’ people to shut up how ‘bout you go right on ahead and do it too?” Peggy had always known Angie to have a sharp tongue, though she’d never seen her in a situation where she’d needed to use it quite like this.

“Hey, don’t tell my girlfriend to shut up!” Johnny puffed out his chest when he spoke, though Peggy was sure it did very little to put Angie off her fight. 

“Oh so this is your girlfriend this week is it?” Angie scoffed, giving Gina a menacing once over.

“And what’s that s’posed t’mean?” Her brother spat, though Peggy noted the flash of panic in his eyes.

“Let’s jus’ say I’ll start respectin’ your girlfriends when you start treatin’ ‘em right.” Peggy could only see the side of Angie’s face, though she was sure it was a smug smirk that lay firmly on her lips.

It was then Peggy realised what Angie had meant when they’d shared stories of their childhoods and Angie had explained she’d learned how to keep her brothers in line. At the time Peggy had just presumed she’d bribed them or pinched them the same way she’d pinched Vinnie’s ear. Now however Peggy was quickly beginning to realise it was manipulation, secrets and threats that Angie Martinelli worked in, and my god was she good at it.

Her comment about her brother’s multiple girlfriends (be it true or not) was all it took for the happy couple to turn on one another instead, their bickering drawing a wider smile out of Angie for a brief moment before she found herself a fight from the other side of the table.

“Here, why you gotta start causin’ trouble in their relationship?” The question came from another non-Martinelli as far as Peggy could tell. “They’re real good together and you just come in here and start makin’ ‘em fight.”

Angie’s smirk turned sinister then, as she rounded herself on the woman that had just spoken. “Me comin in here startin’ fights?” she scoffed. “How ‘bout we start with the fact you’re sittin’ here at my Ma’s dinin’ room table thinkin’ that gives you the right to get involved at all?”

“Ang,” The man next to the mystery woman spoke up. “C’mon, don’t.”

“Oh.” Angie nodded, as if everything had suddenly become crystal clear. “So this your girl then, is it Danny?”

“We’re friendly,” her brother shrugged.

“Friendly,” Angie snorted. “You ain’t foolin’ no one sayin’ that. Lord knows I slept in the room next t’ya for all those years.” She turned then to her brothers girlfriend. “Y’know before you he was getting’ real friendly with his right hand.”

“Angela Pietra Martinelli!” The older man at the head of the table who’d been quiet until this point stood abruptly, his hand smacking against the hard wood of the table. “Language.”

“Sorry Pa.” Angie’s stern glare softened when she addressed her father. “I’ll say an extra Hail Mary tonight,” she swore, and if Peggy had been foolish enough she would have laughed at the notion – Angie never remembered to say her prayers and if she did always claimed she was too cosy to get back out of bed.

The older man smiled and nodded at his daughter, then sat back down. “As you were.” He motioned towards Danny and his girlfriend, giving his daughter permission to continue as long as she watched her mouth.

Angie didn’t get a chance to administer more verbal beatings on her family though, for it was that moment her mother re-entered the room, Vinnie following close behind her looking sheepish.

“Kitchen.” Mrs Martinelli pointed at Angie and she complied without reservation in spite of her earlier fighting spirit. “You too I s’pose,” Mrs Martinelli added then, her eyes falling on Peggy, probably feeling bad that she’d otherwise be forced to remain in the dining room.

Peggy followed diligently, slightly in awe of the authority both Angie and her mother commanded with their voices. She stood at Angie’s side, resisting the urge to stand behind her and use her as a shield from Mrs Martinelli’s impending wrath (highly skilled secret agent hiding behind her girlfriend from an elderly Italian lady was not something Angie would have allowed her to live down).

“So,” Mrs Martinelli sighed once she’d closed the door behind him. “How much he take?”

“Nah Ma,” Angie waved off her concern. “Peg caught him before he pinched anythin’. I just brought him here so you’d know what sorta trouble he was gettin’ into.”

Mrs Martinelli nodded slowly. “It’s ever since your cousin Ralphie died y’know,” she sighed after a moment. “Vinnie feels like he needs t’be fillin’ his shoes or somethin’.”

“Vinnie never was the brains of the family,” Angie shrugged in half defence for her brother.

“No,” her mother agreed. “That was always you, and now look,” she motioned between Angie and Peggy. “I always said brains would land you a better fella than looks ever could and well… it ain’t a fella but it’s a nice house and a well-dressed lady friend.”

“Ma!” Angie was blushing, and Peggy couldn’t help but laugh.

“You must think we’re quite somethin’,” Mrs Martinelli continued, looking now at Peggy. “What with the shoutin’ and my daughter’s foul mouth.”

“No, no,” Peggy insisted politely. “I find the entire affair quite charming really.” She smiled sweetly and seemed to impress Angie’s mother.

“English and all.” Mrs Martinelli seemed pleasantly surprised as she turned back to her daughter. “All these years here was me worried you’d end up alone with tendencies like yours, and you go land yourself a fancier gal than any of them brothers of yours.”

“Ma!” Angie was practically scarlet at this point.

Her mother just shrugged though, pretending not to realise how much she was embarrassing her daughter. “You gals are stayin’ for dinner now that you’re here, right?”

“Ma no!” Angie all but wailed. “Peg has work to do and I’ve to go throw myself into traffic.”

“Don’t be so dramatic!” Mrs Martinelli scolded. “I’m jus’ tryin’ to get to know your lady friend.”

“Perhaps another time?” Peggy managed, being torn between sympathy for her girlfriend and trying not to crack a rib from holding in her laughter.

“Another time.” Mrs Martinelli seemed to consider the suggestion marvellous. “Next Sunday, we can have the whole family round, get you introduced proper!”

The noise that came from Angie then was somewhere between a cry of anguish and a sigh. “Okay,” she recovered weakly. “We’re leavin’.” She took Peggy’s hand and started dragging her towards the back door so as to avoid having to go back through the dining room. “We’re leavin’ before you,” she pointed to her mother. “Have us movin’ in here or somethin’.”

“The house is quiet with none of my children at home anymore…” Mrs Martinelli sighed.

Peggy laughed. Angie just tugged on her wrist even harder.

**Author's Note:**

> Also the dialogue between Angie, her mother, and Peggy at the end is what I imagine my mother would say to any girl I was to ever bring home... so that's where that came from.


End file.
